The Biography of Fujiwara Syuusuke: Up in Flames
by Pointless But Original
Summary: And he watches the carriage burn, the final resting place of Lord Fujiwara Syuusuke and his Lady Ryoko. Historical!AU // Thrill Pair // Forum Anniversary Fic // Multichapter
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Biography of Fujiwara Syuusuke - Up in Flames

Mod you're writing for: Sweet Obsidian Rain

Writers_:_ ezylrybbit （chapters 1 and 2）, The Night Owl is Addicted and doroniasobi （chapters 3 and 4）, mysteriously. memorised（chapters 6 and 7）， HaveYouNoMercy and Crysalice Bell （chapters 8 and 9）; with help from Peppermint Kiss.

Beta(s): crassreine.

Genre(s): N/A

Pairings: Thrill Pair (FujiRyo), Perfect Pair (TezuFuji）； these are the main pairings)

Schools: N/A (It's AU)

Wordlength_: _Multichapter

Summary: This is the twisted， desperation-driven histoire of Fujiwara Syuusuke。

Author's Notes_:_ （ezyl here） Rea~ You know we love you。 Here's to all that hard work as our mod at Pointless but Original. See if you can catch all the JE references! XD．

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_The Biography of Fujiwara Syuusuke – Up in Flames _

_－__CHAPTER ONE－_

_We're not going anywhere tomorrow_

_Do you hate that?_

On the night Fujiwara Syuusuke came into the world, thunder wept out loud and scattered no tears.

It was the night witchcraft enthusiasts would later worship as Painted Sky, and superstitious mountain folk would shiver and recallas Night of the Fire from Hell. It was a night where the clouds of the heavens dyed themselves an unmistakable bloody red, and the dark whispers of the spirits were said to be heard amongst the dead streets of the Imperial capital.

They said that God in heaven had finally dealt punishment to the villains of the Imperiate, that from then on, a new nation would rise, one lead by the citizens. They said that a demon from the center of the Earth had risen to torment those unfortunate enough to stand in his way.

None of it was true, of course.

_You know how people talk_, Fujiwara senior dismissed it with an uncomfortable grimace..

Divine judgment placed high in the hearts of commoners. The reality was far from glamorous. The north stable of the Imperial palace had caught a stray lightning bolt. The hay used for horse bedding picked it up like a wild prairie fire and fed it until it burst, shooting tongues and limbs and startling horses into the main chamber. Everyone in the palace could swear they'd all seen the first spark light up the hay of the northern stable. (Though when asked, no one could place the exact position of combustion. The one true witness had gone up with the flames. A stable hand's bones were dug up underneath the near-fossilized soot four-hundred years later during a treasure hunt by a group of Osaka High School judo freaks with a metal detector.)

Syuusuke's parents had been a little more than dismayed. While the occupants of the palace evacuated the scene, dragging along screaming children and bawking chickens, the baby Fujiwara did not cry, but smiled, smiled politely as one would during the climax of a tea ceremony. Disconcerting, to say the least.

An omen, they'd all agreed. That boy will bring misfortune to us all. It'd be better if they drowned the infant in a bedpan.

But Fujiwara's wife had taken one look at the child, peered into his glassy, half-closed eyes, and fallen in love with him, "My little Fuji-chan," she smiled, cradling the baby in her arms, "You'll be what makes this family great." And so, in fear of his wife's hot-blooded temper (and still bearing long finger nail marks on his back from a fight not too long ago), Fujiwara senior could not find the heart to take him away.

The little Fujiwara was to stay.

_Eyes facing neverending lands_

_What do they reflect?_

He was genius.

As a child, Syuusuke was charming and manipulative. He was clever and precocious in the face of his parents and members of the higher class, joking and tacit with the few friends he could make. At eleven years of age, he knew how to manipulate people, sweet talk the maids into letting him out of the Imperial grounds with a shy smile and an extra inch or two of skin above the waistline. He was familiar with simple law conjectures and could hold a place in court, learned Go maneuvers that kept even the members of his father's cabinet puzzled and nodding their heads in approval.

He had his controversies, as well—the popular ones always have more difficulty avoiding these.

His friend Yuushi, who lived with the magistrate as his son/secretary-page-in-training, thought it would be a laugh to go around scaring the chambermaids with a rumor that Fujiwara's son was a changeling with a knack for breathing fire and turning into a naked girl during a full moon—the latest rumor he had concocted during their daily calligraphy lessons together. While copying lines from Higuma Otoshi, Yuushi's pen had slipped and he'd picked it up and unthinkingly written down the words Fire Queen instead.

Syuusuke proceeded to pin Yuushi on the ground, threatening blackmail and manslaughter before he got what he wanted.

"So I told a few people a few lies," Oshitari shrugged, rubbing his shoulders with a pained expression, "It's not as if anyone will actually believe me, right?"

The tales spread, and pretty soon they stretched to the ears in the court entertainer's house (essentially the Imperial Cheerleading Squad, where they keep all the insane ones with a talent for cartwheels and human pyramids).

"I'm Kikumaru Eiji," said a boy, sticking out a cocky hand, "and you must be that Fire Queen Oshitari keeps talking about."

"And you must be that enigmatic son of the court harlequin and the Emperor's third concubine," Fuji smiled back serenely, "I wonder why you're still hanging around here. They usually kick out the illegitimate ones by the second year…"

Kikumaru made an indignant expression, but perked up immediately after approximately ten seconds. "It's because I can do backflips. I learned by the time I was two. They need me for the Sakura Festival events," and he showed Fuji. They spent the whole day trying to get Fuji to learn how to do one. The task remained unaccomplished, but Fuji made an uncanny friend who always dropped by to give him a hug and call him Fujiko in honor of the Fire Queen. He's also got a backdoor out of the Imperiate grounds. Eiji's alternate job when he wasn't back-flipping was night-guard of the alleys in the north stables section. Since Syuusuke's birth, it had been hastily rebuilt, and supposedly haunted. No sensible servant wanted to tread anywhere near it in a twenty-meter radius.

(Neither of them would know it now, but Kikumaru's ninth descendant would later work in an all-male prison as a doctor's aid in drag. It is still unclear as to whether this has any relation to the influence of the nurse's ancestor nine generations prior.)

There was Oishi Syuichirou, too, uncanny-friend number two. Fuji had encountered Oishi while falling into the shallow end of a pond. He had been unsteady all day after trying to hazardously do so many backflips and tripped on one of the mossy rocks at the rear end of the garden pond. Ten-year-old Syuichirou had proceeded to call over a law enforcement department, the entire house of Imperial paramedics, his father's cataclysmic squad, and the local morgue. (Twisted as fate can be, Oishi's eighth descendant ended up working as Kikumaru's ninth descendant's doctor's aid's doctor, in the same prison. This, at least, was expected of him.)

The next year, he met Tezuka Kunimitsu.


	2. Chapter 2

-CHAPTER TWO－

Tezuka's origin and whereabouts had always been mysterious. Nevertheless, he was an important ally of the Imperiate's. He delivered finery from the southern islands every summer. Perfume, jewelry, exotic plants and animals that died the first month they arrived, but were pretty to look at anyway.

"I think Lord Syuusuke would like to become acquainted with Tezuka-san," Fuji's mother said, patting her son affectionately, "he's only a few years your senior, yet so accomplished and mature. Wouldn't you like to learn from him?"

The first time Syuusuke saw Kunimitsu, he remembers losing his heartbeat.

He remembers the flash in Tezuka's eyes when their gazes met, Tezuka kneeling on the mat before him and Syuusuke, of higher rank, seated on the cushion ten centimeters above him. Fuji had suddenly had the strange urge to change places. He wanted to kneel and let Tezuka have his seat. Even back then, he knew that he had felt something different from the other people he had interacted with; different from Eiji and Oishi and Yuushi.

The first time Tezuka kissed Syuusuke, he remembers losing his breath.

He remembers feeling completely lost.

_Eyes facing neverending lands_

_What do they reflect?_

"What are we?" He finally asks one day, after frantically reassembling each other's clothes in a dark spare room next to the haunted stables, "Kunimitsu, am I your friend?"

Tezuka kissed his shoulder. A light, soft kiss. "Whatever suits you."

"I love you."

"Whatever suits you."

_What is this tender feeling?_

_It changes colour every second._

He'd been the greatest and the worst thing that happen to Fuji.

He got to know Saeki through Tezuka. Saeki was the son of a local fisherman. Fuji would remember sneaking away during the night with Saeki to visit the sea, swim and crash over the waves. Later, those nighttime trips evolved in a direction towards the pleasure district, and Fuji met his first prostitute. Her name was Harune, a beauty fresh from a painting, with smiles and conversation to match. He had thought Harune to be a very difficult girl to deal with. She was a lover of poets and perfume, stole the hearts of men through shrill, girly laughter.

"I found you a concubine," Fujiwara senior told him the year he turned fourteen. Fuji was rarely called to his father's audience, if ever, and he had expected anything but this. "Her name is Harune. A real beauty, I hear. You need to prepare yourself for marriage soon, and I've found the perfect woman."

When he told Kunimitsu about this, it was the end of his life.

Tezuka had begun to pace around the room, muttering to himself.

"I knew it. This was a bad idea from the beginning."

"What do you mean?" Fuji asks, perched precariously on the tatami, dangling his feet on the rim of the bed. He was halfway out of his robe already. Then the expression dawned on him. "You don't…no…"

Tezuka stopped at the end of Syuusuke's room, placing a hand on the sliding door.

"We shouldn't do this anymore."

His footsteps against the wooden floor were strangely hollow.

_The dream and scattered stars_

_Which I saw with you day after day…_

A boy experiences women in different ways. The first time he talks to the girl might be a childish, immature banter with the scullery maid. The next time he might meet one is during his lessons, when obaa-san teaches him to count. And the next time? He will be grown, and his thoughts of a girl will be nothing but toward her body. Pleasure, and lust. Fuji, however, never seemed to grow out of that premature with Tezuka, and even though the concubine sent to him was more than satisfactory, he held no love for her and continued to pine for lost childhood days, the time he spent wandering through the lasts binds of lust. He craved Kunimitsu's touch, for Kunimitsu's gaze upon his naked shoulders and the unfazed desire that gripped both of them when they held each other. Kunimitsu's eyes on his eyes, chest on chest, bare skin against bare skin, mixed cries, passion obscuring the meaning of words half-finished and begun.

All curves and no substance, that Harune, Saeki remarks.

She would never be like his Kunimitsu.

It was like this that he lived.

_I touch my hands to my chest and wish_

_That I will never ever wake up._

His childhood was a prisoner's heaven, his adulthood an angel's hell.


	3. Chapter 3

(Kura note : I'm sorry if anyone saw the chapter I originally posted - I placed the wrong document. -cries and gets tomatoed-)

"Syuusuke, are you awake?"

Fujiwara Syuusuke stirred, and mumbled a quiet "Come in" towards the door. Running a hand through his brown, silky hair, he opened his eyes a little bit, but then flinched and closed them as the light from outside the room shone into his eyes.

"Sorry," Yumiko apologized, her voice in a somewhat rushed tone. She closed the door behind her, and glided towards Syuusuke's bed. She smiled a little bit at Fuji, who stared at her looking confounded.

"Nee-san, what is it?"

Yumiko sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, before opening them again. "Syuusuke...the warlords are advancing," she stated finally, a heavy expression on her face. Her hand reached over and grasped her brother's. Fuji could feel it trembling a little, as though she was as fragile as a piece of glass. Fuji was afraid to hold it too tightly. His eyebrows rose in concern.

"Is that so?" He said finally, his other hand lying still on the other side of him. He propped himself up against his pillow and took a deep breath. He could tell that something dreadful was going to happen, but his mind was too scattered at the moment to piece anything together.

"I'm sorry, Syuusuke." Yumiko looked at her brother. "Your friends...we will all have to separate. If we are to remain like this, all will end." She had a painfully stretched remorseful look on her face.

Fuji felt a painful twist in his chest and it took all of his mustered strength to not reach his other hand over to cover the wound he knew was beginning to form in his heart. Tezuka. Then he laughed, and it came out as almost forced. "Did you read that in your cards as well?" he said, trying to lighten the mood.

Yumiko smiled sadly and shook her head slowly. "The lands are being fought over. The Imperials are trying to take over." She heaved a stressed out sigh. "Everyone is leaving to avoid the war. We cannot afford to be sandwiched in between everything. The Sanada Clan and the Tachibana Clan are making their moves. And the Yukimura Clan is as well. As they are, we must also move forward."

Fuji was still, as if waiting for more, but there was nothing else that escaped his sister's lips.

At last, he opened his mouth, his eyes opening wide.

"I understand."

--

"Father, why have you called me into your chambers?"

Echizen Ryoko, the only daughter of the clan leader Echizen Nanjirou, drawled as she shuffled into the room, looking very unladylike, her hair tousled and her feet bare. She wore a frown, an expression that was almost always slapped onto her face. She carried a small bundle, Nanjirou noticed, and he squinted at it almost suspiciously.

"What's that you're holding? A child, perhaps?" The man laughed sloppily, leaning back into his seat. "Whose is it?"

"Father, be reasonable," Ryoko snapped back, pulling the small blanket back to reveal...a racoon, was it? If one should look closer, he would've seen the attributes that would not make it a racoon. The bundle mewed, and Nanjirou peered closer.

A cat, which was very rare in these parts, if you considered both the location and the situation. Ryoko held it gently, her frown a little lighter than it had been when she'd entered the room.

Nanjirou ignored her previous statement and chuckled. "Not a child then," he said, almost mournfully. "But you will have one, I'm assuming, after you're wedded to the heir of the Atobe Clan."

Ryoko, taking a while to register the words in her mind, snapped her head up to look at her father, her golden eyes wide and her jaw falling open. "Wedded?" she gritted out, almost dropping the kitten in her arms. "Atobe Clan?" She took a step forward. "Father, what is the meaning of this?"

"You will be wedded to Atobe Keigo, the heir of the Atobe Clan," he said again, leaning back in his seat comfortably as though he'd just announced that there were more beer bottles in the lower area of the building.

"I have not agreed to this," Ryoko growled back at her father.

"The wedding will be in two days," he sang carelessly. "The preparations are being made now, and we've already got your dress ready. It's sitting in your chambers."

Ryoko, furious, glared at her father before marching off. She made her way to her chambers, and to her horror, there was a beautiful dress laid out on her bed. Scowling, she put the bundle down on a seat nearby and stared at the fancy piece of clothing.

The kitten shook the blanket off itself, looked at Ryoko's angry expression, and mewed.

--

"Fuji."

Fuji smiled back at the person who had once been his lover. "Tezuka," he said in reply.

It had been hard to part with the others, with all the tears and shimmering eyes. It would be even harder to say goodbye to the one he had once loved.

It seemed to be the same situation with Tezuka, for he kept glancing at the ground, as if he was looking for something to distract himself. But he finally raised his head and looked into Fuji's eyes.

"Fuji," he said again.

Fuji tilted his head to the side, a carefree smile plastered on his face. "Tezuka," he repeated himself. He opened his eyes, revealing two cerulean orbs. He fisted his hands slowly. Maybe this hadn't been a good idea.

He meant to close his eyes, but they flew open when he felt Tezuka's soft kiss on his cheek. It had been so familiar, and that feeling that would have lasted two seconds when they were younger seemed to last forever now.

His heart beat faster as Tezuka pulled back and muttered an apology. No...

When he opened his mouth to say something – anything – his heart pounded once...

And Tezuka was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Turmoil tried to fully envelope the house of Fujiwara. However, despite the ruckus of fleeing servants, the various shuffling of hooves and feet, both outside and inside the house, and the exclamations of guards to 'Search the whole place!', to 'Gather them all!', and to 'Tie them up quick!' the actual residents showed nothing but complete placidness.

"Now, now, no need to shout, Lieutenant," the head of the household told the man in charge of the arrest, an amused expression on his face. "My family and I will surrender without any protest."

Still, with the same hostility he used on criminals, the lieutenant tightly bound the hands of Fujiwara-dono, and led him to the cramped cart that normally contained convicts. The same treatment was given to the other family members, smiling or not.

At the small court reserved for controversial cases involving the higher-ups of society sat a crowd, where, with a quick glance, one would recognize the prominent figures of society; generals, ministers, magistrates, and the like. They were all called upon to witness the trial regarding the treason allegedly committed by one of their esteemed colleagues.

To their surprise, the accused pleaded guilty.

A rush of murmurs surrounded the court. But in a matter of seconds, they were all silenced when the reading of the penalty began. The Fujiwara family was to face exile. They were sent to the mountain near the east. The side of their country that was occupied by the feared Yukimura Clan.

xXx

"I always thought the only time you'd let yourself be involved in an incident that leads would lead to exile is would be when you have inflicted sever pain on another being who has unfairly treated a loved-one of yours," Magistrate Oshitari Yuushi drawls from his seat across Fujiwara Syuusuke. "And I firmly believe you can do that even with a musical instrument, a sports item… or a piece of paper. Though if it were me, I'd simply send you to the jail house. Next to the more dangerous criminals. A cruel and unusual punishment for them." Oshitari smirks.

"And that, my dear Oshitari, is something I'd expect from you." Fuji chuckles. "Speaking of, how are your courts doing? The ones that deal with legalities, in case I wasn't being clear."

Even though he was sentenced to exile, Fuji had still managed to remain in contact with one of his childhood friends—the blue-haired magistrate. Little did they know, this friendship of theirs would continue nine, ten generations more, with Oshitari's descendant as a lithe boxer and a young Fuji as his loyal photographer.

"Not even as remotely interesting as the Fujiwara case." The magistrate leans back into his seat. Simultaneously, he pushes his glasses up his nose bridge.

Behind the mahogany desk, Fuji props his elbows on the smooth table top, idly examining the single lily displayed on the bamboo vase. "Do you have anything more interesting to talk about then?"

"Yes. In fact, I do." Oshitari unties the pouch connected to his obi, revealing a scroll that he soon placed on the desk.

"And just what would this be?" Shuusuke looks as if plucking the petals was more interesting to him than the piece of rolled up paper. "The newest volume of your favorite novel-- what was it again—Weeping Tree? Thank you, but I find the story too emotional. Good, but not really my type. "

Oshitari sighs. "Do you intend on secluding yourself in these mountains for the rest of your life? Being a hermit does not suit you, believe me. This can't—you can't—last living like this, you need the control—The power. I know you want it back, and staying on the sidelines isn't going to work. You need to start getting serious."

The last of the pure white petals gently falls to the floor. Fuji serenely smiles at the man before him. A tilt of his head and then, "What makes you think I'm not serious?"

Out from the shadows, two figures appear. A bandaged hand moves to grab the scroll. He reads over it and once done, he hands it to his comrade, curiously humming out something that sounds like 'ecstasy'.

"Kidnapping? That's child's play," the man with spiky silver hair comments, a smirk on his face.

They receive a nod from the brunet, and as silently as they entered, they leave through the crisp white sliding door, setting off to kidnap a certain Lady Echizen Ryoko on her way to her fiancée's, the heir of the Atobe clan's, mansion.

A satisfied chuckle escapes Oshitari. "Very swift."

"You think so?" Bored, Fuji takes a thick glove and starts transplanting a cactus. Gently, he shakes the soil loose.

"Quite." A pause. "Since you didn't bother reading the scroll, I'll just tell you about it then."

"Oshitari, I said I'm not interested in your novel." Carefully, he detaches a young cactus stem.

"That wasn't a novel," Oshitari says, a bit irritated. "It was information about the Lady Echizen and the Atobe clan—"

The bandaged man returns, interrupting Oshitari. "We forgot to give you this." Another scroll was placed on the table. This time, Fuji allocates time to open it, unrolling the wide expanse of the calligraphy paper, reading it as he absent-mindedly tends to his cactus.

"As I was saying, I think you would like to know that someone you are very familiar with has begun to work for that self-proclaimed 'New King of the Imperiate', Atobe Keigo. And not only that, I heard rumors going around the court that they have formed a… _relationship_ of sorts—Fuji, your hand."

A cactus spine has pierced through the glove, prickling Fuji's slender finger. The blood escapes, staining the white cloth.

"I know," is all that Fuji says, eyes open and still glued to the sheet laid in front of him. "I know."

With melancholy, Fuji remembers the feeling of his heart skipping a beat. Over and over, Fuji reads and re-reads the characters that formed a very familiar name—

Tezuka Kunimitsu.


	5. Chapter 5

Ryoko moaned as she felt a stinging pain in her head; her eyelids fluttered open, but what met her sights was only darkness. _Where am I? _She wondered. As she reached her hand out to rub her eyes, a clinging sound resonated in her ears, followed by a tug on her wrist. Her head whipped around, only to see her wrists chained to the wall.

Alarm seized her, but she soon calmed her racing heartbeat.

_Oh, yes... _she then thought sarcastically, _I was captured._

_Creak—_

The door stood ajar; a beam of light lit up the small empty room. Ryoko squinted instinctively against the sudden brightness as a figure appeared in the doorway. _A woman...? _Ryoko mused; the figure had beautiful flowing hair, clear azure orbs and a seemingly serene smile on her face. _Who is she?_

"Have you woken up, Lady Echizen Ryoko?" the woman asked, leaning against the door frame.

"Who are you?" Ryoko asked coldly, pulling at the chains around her wrists, "And what do you want?"

"Who am I?" the figure approached the desperate girl, running a hand through her own hair, "Why, have you forgotten me already?" she let out a quiet chuckle, "I am the second child of the Imperial official, Fujiwara-dono."

"Second child... of the Imperial official...?" Ryoko stared at the figure, stupefied, "...Fujiwara Syuusuke? Who has been sent to exile?"

He's Fujiwara's second son? Ryoko's eyes widened in utter bafflement, _he... he's a _man_?_ She had been captivated by his feminine features, thinking that he was a woman indeed, _but what a beautiful man..._ a tint of pink crawled across Ryoko's cheeks. Fuji's mellifluous voice soon interrupted her chain of thoughts and pulled her back to reality, where up until now, Ryoko had failed to recognize the seriousness of the situation.

"Pfft, you're a wonderful masterpiece," Fuji bent down and ran his finger along her chin, "Such beauty... tsk, what a waste."

Ryoko jerked her head back, "Your father was corrupt, he has betrayed the Emperor and brought disgrace to the Fujiwara Family, therefore as his son, you are tainted with the sins committed by your kin," she didn't bother to restrain her glare; the movements of her arms were restricted by the chains; but her trembling lips betrayed her fear, "What would a traitor like you want?"

The smile that adorned Fuji's delicate lips, seemingly innocent and silent, now appeared to be nasty and wicked. Ryoko couldn't help but recoil, withdrawing from the glint in the blue eyes that hid behind those dark eyelashes. She felt his fingers curl under her chin, tilting her head up, "Being the precious daughter of the domineering Echizen Clan as well as the treasured fiancée of imperious Atobe Clan... you're the perfect tool to enable me to regain power, don't you agree?"

_Tool?_ Ryoko clenched her jaws in irritation.

"Oh, and," an amused smile tugged at the corners of his lips, "If you are not able to get to the marriage on time," Fuji leaned close, their noses only an inch away, "Then there might just be a tiny _bit_ of conflict between your Clans, wouldn't there?"

"You—!" Ryoko wisely chose to bite her tongue before she said something deeply insulting; she realized her place, and she definitely wasn't ready to face the consequences.

"Nfufu," Fuji chuckled quietly, "I'm actually looking forward to this little clash, and it shall certainly entertain me. I'm sure it'll be interesting, very interesting indeed."

Ryoko refused to let Fuji's provoking words annoy her; surely her father shall soon realize that she was in danger and probably set up a search party with the Atobe Clan. The corner of her trembling lips curved up slightly, "You're too naive, Fujiwara." She might have sounded more convincing had she not stammered so.

"Hnn? Me? Naive?" Fuji stroked her cheek, laughing, "Oh no, my princess, the naive one is you," his words a muffled whisper as he covered the girl's lips with his own.

"Nn—!" Ryoko tried to raise her arms instinctively, but her hands were stopped in midair by the jangling strand of metal, "No—" she managed to get out before her lips were caressed yet again by those of the devilish being in front of her.

Horror gripped her body and panic seized her mind; Ryoko could only moan and yank at those chains desperately, but to no avail. Fuji smirked, putting a small distance between their faces, "It's no use," he licked her lips, "This frail body of yours would never be able to damage the chains."

Ryoko turned her head sideways, only to be tilted back to face the effeminate features of the man before her, who continued to devour the sweetness of her lips, "It would be a shame to let a work of fine beauty such as yourself to go to waste."

Ryoko squeezed her eyes shut and refused to display her fear; his breath felt hot against her skin, and she felt her own temperature beginning to rise as his tongue never ceased to provoke her senses. Her attempts failed as she slowly lost consciousness.

.x.o.x.o.x.

"How utterly unnerving," Fuji observed; he stood up and looked down upon the unconscious girl lying on the floor, he ran a hand through his silky hair as the visage of a certain bespectacled man flashed before him for a split second.

Fuji stepped out of the room, glancing back one last time before grinning in wicked amusement and closing the door behind him.

"Interests you?"

Fuji looked up, his everlasting smile adorning his lips again, "Been eavesdropping, Shiraishi?"

Shiraishi was leaning against the wall lazily, his bandaged arms folded across his chest. Eyes flashed with amusement, he ignored Fuji's inquiry, "Isn't it a bit cruel to lock her up in here?"

"Oh, not at all," Fuji replied, shifting to face the man before him, his revealed orbs reflecting the glint in Shiraishi's eyes, "Women like her should be treated with a bit cruelty to make them obedient."

"Sadistic as usual, aren't we?"

Fuji cast him a nonchalant look, "I'm sure that you're not here just for a pleasant chat?"

Shiraishi unfolded his arms and straightened himself, pulling out a scroll from the sleeve of his kimono, "Latest news from the Imperial capital."

Fuji accepted the scroll with a rigid expression, "Bad news?"

Shiraishi's eyes lost its playful glint as he glanced at the scroll, "Look for yourself."

Unfurling the scroll, Fuji quickly scanned over the paper, "The Imperiate is being overpowered?" his eyebrows crumpled together, "Things are getting troublesome now."

"It seems that the Fujiwara case has been revised," another figure stepped out from behind Shiraishi, his silver hair tied into a little tail behind his head.

Shiraishi let out a small sigh as he regarded Fuji with an observant eye, "And your plan to regain power?"

Fuji fell silent, he threw the scroll to the ground and a smirk tugged at his lips, "Saa..." he cast a glance back at the closed door behind him, "Don't forget, we do still have the ultimate weapon."

.x.o.x.o.x.

"What the devil...?!" never in her imperious life, had Echizen Ryoko ever grunted, but now she did; considering that she had never fainted either, nor had she ever been kidnapped, for that matter. Rubbing her temples slowly, Ryoko wondered with irritation just how long was she going to be trapped in this place.

A tempting aroma of food floated into her nostrils and she looked around for the source of the scent. The outline of an elegant figure was perceived in the darkness. Ryoko groaned inwardly.

"Ah... Lady Ryoko, you have awakened," came the rather mocking voice of Fujiwara Syuusuke. When he received only silence as a reply, Fuji continued, "I assume that you are hungry, having been unconscious for such a long time."

Ryoko bit back a retort as her stomach growled pathetically; her cheeks instantly turned into a lovely shade of red. However, despite her weakening body, Ryoko still refused to accept anything from the person before her, whether they were food, words or whatnot. She just turned her head around, attempting to deny the fact that she was in great need of the appetizing assortment before her.

"Even if I am famished, I wouldn't accept any sympathies from you," Ryoko mumbled, trying to keep a straight face in spite of her growing headache and her unfocused vision, and then she said in a louder voice, "I don't have any appetite."

"Now, now, don't be so stubborn," Fuji leaned in close to the girl, "I'm certain that if you don't consume something, your fragile body won't hold much longer."

"Well, I—" Ryoko began, but was interrupted by the caress of Fuji's slender finger on her lips.

"Nfu, then shall I take the pleasure in feeding you, my princess?"

His mouth felt hot on hers and Ryoko wondered sarcastically whether he was feeding her or himself. This time, she really didn't have the energy to fight back. Ryoko closed her eyes, irritated at the perplexed turmoil in her mind. Fuji took advantage of her parted lips and let his tongue roam into the hot cavern of her mouth. Ryoko bit back a whimper as he teased her tongue to the fullest.

Somewhere in the depths of her subconscious was telling her to push him away. But her chained hands that rested on his chest wouldn't listen; it wasn't like she could extend her arms any further anyway. She was slowly losing consciousness again, although her senses were still alert. She felt her muscles relax as the tight sash around her waist was loosened. It was when she felt a small chill on her shoulders that she fully realized what was happening.

"Wh-What are you doing?!" her eyes shot open, putting a little distance between them, but even this small movement sent her feeble muscles shrieking in protest. She quickly gathered her kimono and wrapped it back around her body.

"Tsk, tsk, what a shame," Fuji shook his head in mock exasperation, his lips still in a downward curve, "I was really enjoying it; you are the most succulent dessert I've had yet."

"Well, I wasn't enjoying it at all," Ryoko snapped, her cheeks still burning. Well, maybe she lied a bit on that matter. She rolled her eyes, so he was feeding himself after all.

Fuji's eyes glowed with mischief, edging closer to the frail girl, "You think I'm going to let my dessert escape, just like that?"

Ryoko gulped and squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for what was coming. But nothing happened. Slowly, she raised her eyelids; her vision was greeted with two cerulean pools of amusement and a playful curve of rosy lips. Ryoko held her breath.

"Were you expecting something?" Fuji teased.

"N-No! Of course not," Ryoko protested, avoiding eye contact. Her clothing slipped off her body before Ryoko could make any movement. "You—" Flustered, Ryoko could only sit rigidly on her spot.

"Such beauty..." Fuji whispered again, his fingers trailing fire across her skin.

"No, don't...!" Ryoko grasped his slender fingers, but he merely ignored her and brushed her hand off. The wild clattering of chains echoed through the empty room, accompanied by the desperately stubborn commands of the bound girl.

_Tempting complaints  
Those scarlet lips_

"Don't complain, Lady Ryoko," Fuji whispered into her ear, his breath caressing her bare skin, "Or I shall have to shut you up in my way."

Ryoko stiffened for a moment, forcing back the tears that threatened to spill out. The base of her neck was met with the touch of his tongue, the stroke of his lips. What was this feeling? This weird feeling... through the entangled emotions of fear, distress, and horror... deep within...

_What is this tender feeling?  
It changes colour every second  
Forever and ever hold me in those hands with love_


End file.
